A different situation
by Lady Threarah
Summary: AU. When the Autobots arrive to collect the Allspark, they are unprepared for the planet and culture they find waiting for them.
1. Chapter 1

A.N.: Yes, yes, I know I shouldn't be starting a new story when I've got so many others to finish, but I can't help it! The bunnies just won't leave me alone. I've even got a livejournal account to try and give the durn things away, but so far there aren't any takers. If anyone is interested, I'm there as lady_threarah. Please, help a writer out.

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Transformers. If I did, the humans would have far less screen time than the 'Bots and 'Cons.

Chapter 1

Optimus Prime stared down at the blue planet so much smaller than his home, Cybertron. Smaller, but no less important. Somewhere on that little planet, was the Allspark. And, hopefully, his missing creation, Bumblebee.

His plan had been successful, at the time. Launching the Allspark into space had prevented the Decepticons from obtaining it. Unfortunately, it had also prevented the Autobots from retrieving it. Optimus had gathered his forces and left Cybertron in search of the relic that had brought life to his race, secretly sending teams out in different directions to investigate planets for its location. As of yet, all results had come back negative.

Except for Bumblebee. The scout had set out alone, hoping to slip unnoticed under the Decepticons radar into a chunk of the galaxy they had claimed as their own. It had worked, and for many vorns Bumblebee had traveled from planet to planet without alerting the Decepticons to his presence. And then it had come; the transmission the Autobots had been waiting for. Bumblebee had found the Allspark on a tiny planet deep in 'Con territory and needed help retrieving it. Once the coordinates had been relayed Prime had ordered the Ark to proceed with all speed and caution. They could not tip their hand now, not when they were so close.

"Sir! There's a satellite in orbit!" the voice of his Chief Scientist brought him out of his thoughts.

"Any signals, Perceptor?"

"None, sir. It is also in need of repair. Perhaps the satellite has been abandoned?"

"Perhaps. We will need to make planet fall to be sure. Any sign of the 'Cons?"

"None, sir."

"Good. First team, roll out."

* * *

Entry was a strain. Thank Primus for war-grade armor to protect their internals from the heat, as well as the transformation cog that allowed them to fold up so tightly that the dirt from landing was unable to penetrate either. The team landed near a city, but something was…amiss.

"It's way too quiet here. This is a city. You need sentient creatures to build a city, right? So where are they?"

"Jazz…" Prime didn't bother to look at the saboteur, still keeping a lookout for life as they walked. Nothing but vegetation and insects.

"I'm serious! There aren't even any bodies; just these drones, and they don't have enough processor space to hold a single command. What in the Pit happened here?"

"Perhaps we will find out. When Bumblebee sent his signal, there was no indication of problems in the code. Something must have happened between now and then." Ratchet speculated out loud, noting the way the vines were burying the buildings around them. Some had even collapsed, now nothing more than piles of rubble.

"It doesn't help that the signal took half a vorn to reach us. Anything could have happened between the sending and our arrival here." Weapons Specialist Ironhide didn't say it, but he agreed with Jazz. It was way too quiet here. Not to mention the planet itself was putting him on edge. Few planets in the galaxy had as much plant life as this one, and fewer still were above water.

Prime murmured his agreement as he continued to lead his team through the city streets. He had never mentioned to his team that, in the transmission Bumblebee sent, he had sounded excited about something. Something other than the Allspark.

"And has anyone else noticed that the green stuff is seriously messing up our scanners?"

"Yes, Jazz, we've noticed."

None of the Autobots picked up on the small pair of eyes watching them from a partially collapsed building.


	2. Chapter 2

A.N.: Sorry for the wait, and for such a short chapter. Please enjoy.

Oh, and Grey, I hope this isn't too predictable for you. I would hate for folks to figure out my plots so easily. -winks-

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. My bank account can attest to that.

Night fell, bringing with it darkness, cooler temperatures, and the sounds of life. Insects and amphibians chirped, and a gentle westerly wind blew, rustling the leaves around them. The Autobots had since left the city behind and were walking down a road still more or less visible through the grass. Trees had sprung up all over the place, forming a rather young forest with reasonably tall yet thin trees.

All four members of the first team were now very worried. They had landed at the coordinates that Bumblebee had sent them, but so far had seen neither wire nor bolt of the scout. Jazz maintained a running commentary, both soothing to his teammates and frustrating, and was doing a wonderful job of distracting everyone from something glaringly important. The moment the sun had began to set, Prime attempted to make contact with the Ark floating in orbit. He was met with static. It wasn't that they were out of range; the communications system on the Ark was up-kept by both Blaster and Perceptor. It was more like something was jamming his signals, much in the same way his scanners weren't working on the area around him. Bumblebee hadn't seemed to have this trouble when sending out his message, so what had changed? Did it have anything to do with the abandoned city?

"D'you see that?"

Prime snapped out of his thoughts to the sound of Jazz's question. In the distance, barely noticeable through the trees, was a faint green light.

"I see it. Spread out, be silent."

Moving quietly despite their size, the Autobots separated from their previous formation and made their way towards the light. The closer they got, the brighter it got, as well as bringing out other details.

Such as laughter.

The laughter not only came from several sources, but was unmistakably young. Younglings. Prime's spark clenched at the sound he never thought he would hear again since the Allspark had gone and the femmes had vanished.

Absently sidestepping a thick tree, he was treated to the sight of four femme younglings bouncing a ball between them. The green light came from a small, oddly shaped device on the ground nearby.

Muffled sounds of surprise came from his comrades as they too saw the younglings at play. A thought struck Prime. Where there were sparklings and younglings, there were adults to look after them. Over-protective adults, since sparklings were hard enough to come by on Cybertron.

And yet, as he looked around, there were no signs of any adult except his team. This wasn't good. Mind made up, he stepped out of the cover provided by the trees and tried to get their attention. They ignored him.

Puzzled, he signaled to his team to step out from cover, and ran a scan over the younglings. Instantly he realized his mistake.

Now, the time it takes to assimilate the information from the scan is less than a nano-second. Once Prime had realized that his scan had told him that the four younglings before him were nothing more than holograms, his mind realized that not only had he just walked into a trap, but he had lead his team into it as well.

The moment all four Autobots had stepped into the small clearing the ground gave way and sent them tumbling aft over audio into a pit deep enough to prevent easy escape.

It took several minutes to untangle themselves in the narrow space (_"Whoever has their hand on my aft, MOVE IT!" "A ped between the armor on my chassis is NOT a pleasant sensation!" "You're all too heavy for me to carry!"_) and in the confusion, it was revealed that the source of light was also the holo-emitter.

"Uh on." All four Autobots looked up. Staring down at them were the femme younglings, apparently surprised by their catch.


	3. Chapter 3

A.N.: I apologize for both the wait and the rather short length of the chapter. I've still got several chapters planned out, and this is just to help get the ball rolling.

Enjoy.

* * *

"I can't believe we did this! We're going to be in so much trouble!" whimpered the pale blue and silver femme. She was shushed by her sister.

"Stop being such a baby, T.C.! They don't look like the Warriors! And we only get in trouble for messing with the Warriors themselves!" soft pink and white growled at her sister, confident she was right. Painted in faded purple and deep grey, the third femme giggled at the other two.

"Yeah, these guys aren't Warriors! There aren't enough sharp edges on them!"

The fourth femme, pastel yellow and white, frowned in thought. "They don't _look _like the Warriors, but they speak the same language."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm the one who told you about them? And besides, what if they're allies? Then what will we do?"

"Not you too, Sunbeam," moaned the pink femme. "You and Thundercloud are such downers. Can't you just be happy that we've proven ourselves smarter than the adults for once?"

"Not if it means we get punished! Not all of us are lucky enough to have a Warrior parent to protect us from the Overlord, Starshine. You'll get scolded—I'll get smacked!"

"It doesn't help that the Warriors really don't like your dad!"

"Thank you _so_ much for the reminder, Skydancer. How would I _ever_ remember without you?"

"_That_ was un-"

All four femmes were distracted from their argument by the sounds of speaking from the pit. They turned to look at the adults who were trying to communicate with them.

"What do you suppose they're saying?" wondered Skydancer, raising her green optics to look into other equally green optics. Starshine scoffed.

"They're obviously stuck, thanks to _my _idea, and are trying to get us to help them out of there."

"Then maybe we _should _help." Starshine shared a wicked smile with her other sister, Skydancer. Sometimes Sky could be so devious.

"And how are we going to do that? The four of us together couldn't get the smallest one out, never mind the others." Sunbeam made an attempt at being the voice of reason.

"Get the smallest one out of where?" the femmes flinched and turned, the sight of a Warrior glaring at them from the tree line. Slowly, he strode forward, stopping at the edge of the pit. One glance in answered his question.

At the bottom of the pit, Optimus suddenly had a very good idea as to what had happened, not only to the planet, but also to his wayward Bumblebee.


End file.
